Shotlist

Shows the problems of a boy rejected by other children because he is selfish, uncooperative and domineering. Illustrates how the group accepts him back and tries to help him when he shows a desire to be courteous.

01:11:25
CU Girl: "Johnny's rude."
01:11:26
CU Another girl: "...and selfish!"
01:11:28
CU Boy: "He doesn't think of others!"
01:11:30
Third girl: "He won't take turns."
01:15:20
CU Boy looking in mirror
01:15:25
VO: "Would you want to play with you? The you that we see in the mirror?"
01:15:30
Boy shakes his head "no"

Ken Smith sez: Johnny is a jug-eared little brat whose friends won't play with him because he is "selfish" and "always yelling."
This entire film is shot in a late fifties Black Void, as Johnny's five former friends struggle to build what looks like a miniature city block out of cardboard boxes and construction paper. The omniscient, invisible narrator is apparently standing right behind the camera, and the children are not shy in voicing their disapproval of Johnny's behavior. "He said all our ideas were corny," says one. "He wouldn't let anybody else use the blue paint," whines another. "Gee whiz, what a creep!" adds a third.
The narrator-behind-the-camera beckons (we see his arm) Johnny in from the edge of the Black Void and draws two cartoon faces on a convenient blackboard: "Smiley" and "Sulky." "If you want other children to like to play with you, you'll have to be a Smiley, not a Sulky," he warns. He tells Johnny that "learning to be considerate of others is like learning to tie your shoes" and instructs him to put on "a happy, considerate-of-others face." Johnny vows to try, but what if he slips up? The children suggest tapping their temples ("giving him the signal") whenever Johnny begins acting rude, thus helping him remember to be good. "If Johnny keeps trying hard," the narrator concludes, "it won't be long before he'll be nice all the time!"
Very similar in style to Holiday From Rules. In order to simplify synching the on-screen kids' voices with that of the narrator, the narrator apparently stood on the set while he spoke; you can hear the echo. "Cathy's" little brother, who suggests the temple-tapping signal, is obviously retarded.

Danger Lurks
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